A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

life

The world as we know it …

Does anybody else feel like they are living in a reality movie?

This is like The Truman Show, times a million.

A few months ago, we all heard about this COVID-19 coronavirus. It was pretty spooky, but it was far away. Though it didn’t seem those in charge were too worried about what it could become.

But, now it’s here. And it’s downright scary.

Now, let me preface this by saying I think the widespread panic is a bit crazy. We’re in a panic stage, which is never good. If we all use extreme caution, don’t put ourselves in bad spots, and use common sense, I think we’ll be fine in the long run. We can’t go bonkers.

But you have to be smart.

Hoarding toilet paper or hand sanitizer, and then trying to mark it up to ridiculous amounts of money doesn’t help. Not one bit. People need to be able to get basic supplies. Stocking your freezer with enough meat to last two years doesn’t help anybody.

It honestly makes me wonder about society as a whole.

This is a crazy illness going around. Things are being shut down. Businesses are closing — and many likely can’t afford it. People are alarmed and in a panic — and that definitely doesn’t help. We’re in uncharted waters here.

I work in two school districts, handling PR. That includes maintaining social media and websites at each. Each are putting out information as fast as possible. Most people have been thankful and appreciate how much each district is attempting to do for their communities. Some are negative and it makes me wonder about things. This is new for the schools, as well. Usually, they aren’t told to shut down to students for this long — especially now in the day of social media.

Speaking of that, the media and social media are hard to watch and look at. A human’s mind can’t grasp everything that is going on and process it that well. It’s impossible. Rumors become “truth,” and and the truth and facts gets questioned by people because they don’t want to believe it.

We have to practice self care. For me, it’s trying to process things and remain calm through it all. That doesn’t always happen. I’m a human just like anybody else. Despite thinking this reaction could be way over, I understand it. And I have fears and caution just like anybody else. What we’re doing is being done for a reason. Yes, it will inconvenience people. Yes, people will suffer. But in the end, we will get through it.

One way or another.

So practice some self care. Go for a walk and try and avoid close contact with people. Get some sun. Show social distance. Try not to feed into the hysteria and breathe. Play a game. Video chat with an old friend.

And if looking to help small businesses, see if you can buy gift cards. Or go get some takeout.

We will get through this. It might be faster than they thing; or it might be longer. But we will get through it.

Most of all, be good to one another. Basic human kindness or a smile from six feet away can go a long way.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

The epic adventure is set to begin …

For those who geocache, you know there are a lot of milestones one can hit.

It starts with the first 100 finds.

And then 250. 500. 1,000.

The first “special” milestone I planned was my 1,000th. I attempt to make each thousand finds something special. My 1,000th was GC39, “The Spot.” It’s the oldest active geocache east of the Mississippi.

Then came 2,000, which was Europe’s first on my trip to Ireland.

On No. 3,000, it was the finale of the New York Delorme challenge. That was followed by 4,000, which came at the midnight madness event at GeoWoodstock in Pennsylvania. Several friends went and got a cake and “decorated it” for the find.

Good times.

But since then, it’s taken me a lot of time to get to 5,000. I wanted to make it special as this is a pretty big milestone, I think. So, I started looking at caches to plan out. Where to go? What to find?

All signs pointed to Mingo.

For those who don’t geocache — or those of you who do and don’t know what Mingo is — it’s the oldest active geocache in the world.

It’s a cache I have wanted for several years. And what better goal than to make it my 5,000th find.

Originally, this trip was going to be a weekend one. Fly into Denver, drive to Mingo. Do some other caches, and then fly out.

Simple.

Or not.

Instead, this has turned into an epic geocaching journey that will no doubt create a ton of memories and fun stories. I looked into a couple of states and such, but once I did the math, it was decided we’d go for the gusto.

It’s going to be a seven-day trip to the west. We’ll land in Denver, stay a night there and then hit a Rockies (vs. the Phillies!) game the next day. From there, we’ll hit eight states and a bunch of wild and cool things. This trip will take us from Colorado to Wyoming, and then from there we’ll hit Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah.

All in all, we’ll cover a bit more than 2,000 miles.

We’ll see some amazingly cool spots and hopefully meet a few people. I’ve had a few events published along the way to try and meet people.

This is going to be one heck of a cool trip. Hopefully it will not only be a great trip to get me recharged in my life, but also something to give me inspiration to blog more often again.

I’ll have plenty of stories and photos … and I look forward to sharing them here once I get back in and in the coming weeks!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Day by day and trying to set a path

I recently looked at this one file in my Google Drive: blog ideas.

This is something I started earlier this year when I got into a funk about things. After blogging every single day last year, I ended up getting burnt out.

Stats have followed suit. It’s not that I am a numbers watcher by any means, but it’s good to know people read and look at what you create. And when the numbers fall, you know things aren’t going well.

It’s on me, without a doubt.

I got off of a schedule. I don’t think blogging each and every day was a good thing. I struggled to find topics and, often enough, the posts felt forced. While doing that, I also got out of my regular rotation of reading and commenting on a bunch of other blogs. I miss reading other people’s words and seeing photos.

I need to rectify this.

But where do I get back into it. There are times I struggle with the blog and it is feeling forced once again. Almost like a job. This is something that happened to me before.

A few years ago, I ran a disc golf blog. It was quite popular and we had some extremely good writers. But this was being done for the love of things. I didn’t know a thing about advertising and such, so I never went in that direction. With that in mind, it’s hard to “force” writers to do things, when I can’t even give them a little kick back. By the end of the run, it felt like a job. None of us really wanted to write anymore. A couple of them have gone on to paying gigs, which is good for them.

I’ve done posts like this before. You know the ones – fill some time and space by talking about how you need to do more etc. It’s something that fills space.

This one is somewhat like that, but it’s also a way for me to “think out loud” a bit to see what I can do to fix this. It’s not something to call me to task, per say, rather a way to figure out how I can straighten the ship and get back on task.

See, I love blogging. And I love writing. But I don’t like it when things are forced. So what can I do to get the “feel” again?

First, it’s time to start tackling that list of blog ideas. Some of them I put there months ago. But is it really that bad to blog about something I did earlier this year (such as ConnCon in March)? Not really seeing as I’m not a time-sensitive news organization. I have baseball stadium reviews, and stories about things that have happened to me, and different food items, and photography …

So tackling that will help me.

I’d also like to plan the 20 Days of Chill better than I did the 10 Days of Heat. The 20 Days of Chill has been a good writing challenge the past few Januarys. I decided, based on that, to add the 10 Days of Heat. Though a good idea in theory, I don’t think I pulled it off as well as I wanted. So I am going to rework the thought process and make sure it runs smoother next year. That also means making sure the 20 Days of Chill is good this January.

My ultimate goal with the challenge is to announce the themes early enough this year to allow people to write things well in advance and hopefully that will help people – me included.

What this ultimately led me to realize is how hectic life can be. I don’t make a dime off my blog, so it has to be for enjoyment. I need to have fun or this is what happens. And I don’t like it when things like this happen. So I need to try and track myself a bit more.

A year or so I bought one of these life planners. I’ve leafed through it and I like the look, but there are some things to sit down with before you get going. You jot down ideas and goals and all sorts of other things, with the idea of giving yourself goals and a clear head. I need to sit down and start with that and start plotting my days better. I need to set time aside to blog or to go out for an extra walk. I need to take control of different aspects of my life, which will make these types of things easier and more fun. In the end, maybe it will also help with my health goals as well.

Hopefully this isn’t another one of those posts where I jot things down and nothing happens. I know things won’t happen tomorrow – it’s a slow build to get into a better place. But the challenge is getting into this journey and seeing life in a different light. I look forward to this journey and hopefully I’ll look back at this post and say – yep, I did what I needed to do to get back on track.

Only time will tell.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

“Somebody called us saying … “

Society needs to get a grasp.

On Sunday, I was coming home after a fine day of watching baseball in Syracuse. The whole day was wonderful with blue skies and just enjoying baseball.

For those who know me, you know I’m a bit of a baseball nerd. When I go, I keep a scorebook and just watch the game. I rarely have a beer when I am at a game, and if I’m driving I pretty much completely avoid it.

That was Sunday.

Being I went by myself, I was driving. I watched a doubleheader, during which I had my normal hot dogs and not much more. When the games ended, I headed home. Simple as that.

By the time I was about 30 miles from home, I was ready for the day to be over. Though I wasn’t driving over-aggressive, I made a few passes on the way home (in zones, so legally) and all of those passes were of people who were adjusting their speed the whole time, many of times which was below the speed limit.

When not passing, I gave cars their distance as I’m supposed to. I didn’t think anything was bad.

The first vehicle I passed hit his volunteer fireman blue light – which I’m not sure is truly legal as there was no emergency. It was turned off quickly, though, so maybe it was their way of telling me it was safe for me to come back in?

I passed one other (again, legal passing zone) who I then saw eventually turned. There was one more pass that happened (legal zone) miles down the road of somebody going about 40-45 in a 55.

I don’t think I did anything wrong.

Now, I’d like to also point out that on my way home from Syracuse, I passed no fewer than three or so troopers and never got pulled over. On the way up, I passed no fewer than five and didn’t get pulled over.

So I came into my town (doing the legal speed limit) and passed a sheriff deputy, who turned and followed me, hitting his lights as I neared my home. He came up, asked me for my license and registration and walked away talking to a second police officer who had showed up.

Now, mind you, I still have no idea why I was pulled over.

So the first officer came back and told me he pulled me over because somebody called with my license plate and car description saying I was driving “fast and erratic.” He said they had to pull me over to see if I was intoxicated or had a medical emergency. So, despite them not seeing me doing anything wrong, they pulled me over – based on somebody making a phone call. So does that mean if I am just mad at somebody, I can call the police when I see them driving and they’ll take care of it? Or it makes me wonder if the person who called “knew somebody?”

I did wonder if the person who called it in either pulled over or had somebody else in the car make the call, being it’s illegal to talk on the phone in New York while driving.

In the end, my license was handed back to me because “they got another call” and had to race off through a residential area. Part of me wonders what he would have done if he hadn’t been called away.

The other part of all this is taking the caller’s word. What if they were just mad that somebody passed them, despite driving under the speed limit?

This is society now.

My father was a chief of police for more than 20 years. He was fair and honest. He didn’t tote his badge around like he was King of the world. I’m quite sure he would have handled this much differently.

Reality is this – if somebody called in my plate number, the officer knew who I was and where I lived. Being he was “ready” for me as I came into town, he knew where I likely was heading. So why not just follow me, wait for me to park and roll down your window and say something like “Hey, is everything OK? We got a call and just wanted to check.”

That would have made sense.

Instead, it seems people are always looking for something more. The flashing lights, the flashlight into the mirror and all the hoopla.

Look, I’m a defender of the police. I know many officers still and know their job is dangerous and thankless. But there’s also something to be said about taking things at the level they are. There was no true reason to pull me over, outside of somebody making a phone call. When the officer saw me, I was doing the speed limit, used turn signals and abiding the law.

Society is changing and, in many ways, in bad ways. I give police the benefit of the doubt. I truly hope the intent here was to make sure everything was OK.

I have no issues – none – with being asked where I had been or checking on me because somebody called. But to pull me over near my home and make it like I had done something wrong that was witnessed by the officer, isn’t something I would expect.

I remember how my father handled many things like this. With society changing as it has, I know it would be hard to do things the same way, but it doesn’t mean I can’t hold out hope that there would be exceptions.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Don’t blink … you could miss it all

It’s interesting how life throws things at you and it makes you look at the big picture – how it could be over in an instant.

This past summer, I was a passenger in a car that had close call with somebody who decided they wanted to drive on the opposite side of the road (https://hoohaa.com/?p=10897).

Then it happened this week.

The day started with a lot of snow. But as the day went on, there was clearing and sun. Roads were bare, for the most part. I opted to head to the next town over to run some errands.

On a side note, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become a smarter driver – at least in bad weather. I don’t rush. I respect the roads. I know places where, despite how it looks in one spot, could be in bad shape. One such place near me is Meridale Mountain.

At the top of it all is an almost-open field on the one side, with an open field, coming down off a hill, on the opposite side.

What that often leads to is wind and drifts, which means snow on the road.

So on this day, I approached and slowed down to make it through safely. Coming the opposite was a pickup truck (Toyota, I believe) with a cab and all. They took the corner at the top a little too quick and got fish tailing a little – just as I headed toward the vehicle.

Things like this unfold slowly – despite only being a couple of seconds. The person driving was a younger gal, likely no more than early 20s (if that). The look of fear in her eyes was easily seen. I knew she didn’t have control, even though you could tell she was trying her best. I made it past her – and as I did, she lost full control.

I know the feeling of fishtailing. I think we’ve all likely been there. But in trucks, you are higher off the ground and you really need to try and work fast. She looked for a moment like she had it, but then … it was over.

She crossed over lanes and spun, heading over an embankment. She didn’t flip, which is good. And by the time I pulled over and ran back, she was out of the truck and calling somebody. She said she was OK and I went along my way (along with a couple of others who stopped and some snow mobilers).

If I had been 4-5 seconds behind when I went by, the odds are her and I meet a little differently. And with my car, I likely lose that battle and maybe not in a good way.

On my way to work the next day, I saw somebody off the road. I heard of other accidents and such, too. The weather wasn’t good. And, I’m sure, some of these accidents weren’t out of negligence. But I guarantee some of them are. I saw people going by me at speeds way higher than they should be going in nasty winter weather.

Four or five seconds is what separated me from getting by with no issues or having some sort of an accident that could have altered my world.

Slow down. Take your time. Respect the roads. Sometimes things happen that are unavoidable. But you have control over how you drive in bad weather. Remember, it’s not just your life you could hurt or alter by driving like an idiot in bad conditions – there are others. Be smart and be safe.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!